One student has been charged as a minor in possession of alcohol and 11 students will not be allowed to walk in Saturday’s Hanover High School graduation after being caught drunk in school last week, police and school officials confirmed.

Hanover Police were called to the high school shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 21 to supervise the situation after students reportedly returned to school under the influence of alcohol, Hanover Police Chief Walter S. Sweeney said.

“The school called and told us they were dealing with this issue and had us there in the event they had difficulty locating parents,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney said students were drinking alcohol off campus and returned to school under the influence.

Police charged one student with possession of alcohol after they found a single bottle of alcohol in the juvenile’s car, which was parked at the school. Sweeney said the student was issued a summons to appear in Juvenile Court.

Sweeney declined to comment on the student’s age or gender.

School officials confirmed that multiple students were caught drunk in school after the Mariner received an anonymous tip about the incident last week.

The 11 students who were reprimanded will still graduate, Supt. of Schools Matthew Ferron said, but they will not be permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony which takes place Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. at the high school athletic field.

“Every year, I think around graduation time, we often have maybe one student [involved in an] incident, but we have never had something of this scope,” said High School Principal Thomas R. Raab.

Raab said the students were disciplined in accordance with the school’s discipline policy, but declined to comment on the exact punishment stipulated in the handbook.

“We try to do a lot to help them understand the impacts and effects of alcohol abuse,” Raab said.

Throughout the school year Hanover High School employs multiple programs to teach students about the dangers of drinking and using drugs.

Student assemblies throughout the year feature recovering drug addicts and alcoholics from rehabilitation centers in Brockton that talk to students about the ways substances affect their lives. In December, the school sponsored a play called “On My Way” that tells the story of a high school senior who is killed in an alcohol-related car crash. Another assembly featured Chris Herren, a former NBA basketball player, who nearly destroyed his life with drugs and alcohol.

“I believe Hanover High School is a safe place to learn,” Raab said.

Raab said he would address the situation with underclassmen following graduation this weekend.